Avionics News February 2014 - 38

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consumer electronics companies among its members.
Where AML takes over is in packaging the technology
and getting appropriate approvals for installation.
After viewing a promotional video depicting wireless charging, Lange decided his company must make
the technology available in aircraft. "I've been working on this project for a year and a half, off and on,"
Lange said. "It's been a lot of fun." He added that
his company is working with the FAA on obtaining a
supplemental type certificate, plus parts manufacturing
approval.
The 2013 National Business Aviation Association
Convention was the first one AML had attended, one of
several "firsts" for his company last year, he said. "Everybody who came by the booth and saw what we were
doing told us we were doing the right thing," Lange
said. The reaction to his wireless charging product was
encapsulated when a chief executive officer flew to
Las Vegas, Nev., overnight during the show to examine AML's booth, saying, "Yeah, we gotta have this"
aboard the company's airplane.
The configuration AML is working on now, which it
calls Phase One, includes a multiple-box system, with
a single power supply and charging stations located
throughout the aircraft, as specified by the customer.
The system would be switched off during taxi, takeoff
and landing, but energized once the aircraft is airborne.
As a passenger boards the airplane, he or she could
simply place their compatible device on the charging
pad. Once airborne and the system is energized, the
device would begin charging.
Each device manufacturer does wireless charging a
bit differently, Lange has discovered, and overcharging can be a problem. The current crop of cellphones
incorporating the technology can "talk back" to the
charging base, and when the phone reaches 90 percent,
the charger shuts off. But that's not all.
Cabin Communication
"The way the charger is set up right now, it does have
near-field communication (NFC, a standard allowing
PEDs to communicate with each when they're in close
proximity) built into it, but we're not using that right
now," he said.
By mid-2014, however, Lange said AML intends
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to move to what he called Phase Two, where multiple
devices can be charged from one charging station. This
will require enabling NFC. "Near-field communication and multiple-device charging will be coming to a
theater near you," Lange joked.
And when will this be? "We were going to rush this,
and then the government shutdown set us back," Lange
said. "But we really need to be able to power more than
one device at one time" from the same charging station,
he said, plus "address cockpit controls, so we can turn
the system on and off with relative ease.
"We've got the hardware design for the charging station. What we're working on right now is the power supply, which will be critical" because of the need to ensure
the system's ability to work with a device's NFC capability, Lange said. Ultimately, the system will enable a passenger's phone to self-configure itself to the aircraft's IFE
systems, including any voice communication system.
"The goal is for a passenger to lay a smartphone on
the charging pad when boarding," he said, "and for
the system to configure it for the aircraft's telephone
number, then assign an extension." Calls to the phone's
number would get rerouted to the phone via the aircraft's nested exchange system. "We've done it in the
lab, already. And, oh by the way, the phone also may be
used to summon a flight attendant, control the aircraft's
IFE for that seat and adjust lighting," Lange said. Upon
leaving the aircraft at its destination, passing the phone
near another NFC device would reset it to its pre-boarding configuration.
Coming Soon
With all this going on, Lange maintained AML's
inductive wireless charging solutions will be available
for forward- and retro-fit as soon as early 2014. "We've
got a couple of completion centers doing their due diligence right now," he said, "plus an OEM." He's talking
to everyone from Airbus operators to Cirrus owners, as
well as considering rotorcraft.
It's all part of Lange's problem-solving, can-do approach to running his company. "There's not one thing
that defines anybody," he said. "But if there's one thing
I want people to remember, we're motivated for one
thing and one thing only: provide solutions. If we can
find a way, we'll find a solution."
With this kind of attitude and confidence, look for
Lange's wireless charging technology, coming soon to
an aircraft cabin near you. q

Avionics News February 2014

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